Continue reading to learn how to create this AppleScript.
Forklift, the split-pane file manager with support for multiple network protocols, is officially at version 1.5 now. We covered the initial release a while back, and we're excited about the progress it's made. With an interface update (Leopard goodness) and some behind-the-scenes tweaks, it's turning into a sweet piece of work.
Forklift has always been of interest to me, with its support for SFTP and Amazon S3, but my previous experiences with Forklift had shown it to display a tendency toward a little sluggishness and the occasional poorly-timed crash. This latest version has not only been stable for me, but has been snappy. And by that I mean speedy to the extreme, especially when dealing with (S)FTP servers and S3. Ten times faster on remote transfers, actually, according to their own benchmarks.
Quick Look and FXP Copy (server-to-server file transfer) round out a great feature set. If you're looking for a Finder add-on/replacement (or a great FTP client), definitely download the trial. At $29.95, it's quite reasonably priced for what it can do. And for current users the upgrade is free and will fix quite a few shortcomings you may have noticed thus far. Version 1.5 is Leopard-only, but 1.2 is still available for our striped friends.
Some applications remind me of cars. For example, most Java based applications are Volkswagen Things as they're useful in certain situations, but horrifying (or hilarious) to look at. But once in a while you get a Jaguar XJS: a beautiful exterior that doesn't bely its underlying power. That, and you frequently have to spend some time at the mechanic. Leap by Ironic Software – makers of Yep – just hit 1.0 after a long stint in beta. It's my current Jag.
We covered the beta, but here's a quick review. Leap is a Spotlight interface which, once you get used to it, causes a fundamental shift in the current paradigm of file management. Prior to finding Leap, I had already been using a homegrown, Spotlight-based file management system. The strategy – based on a tagging system – requires a far smaller folder hierarchy and allows for much faster location of related files in a project. Leap both complements my system and elegantly replaces a lot of its kludgier functionality.
By combining full Spotlight search capabilities with a tagging system (that writes to Spotlight comments), Leap makes file location a breeze and allows for easy association of files within a project. It can function like Finder, showing all files in a single directory, if that's what you need at the moment. The "Go Deep" search can display every file in every sub-folder of a project. The results can be filtered by criteria such as file type, location, date, keywords and other metadata, allowing for quick searching and tagging. It can also display a traditional list format, but the icon view with Loupe function and Quick Look integration makes browsing as elegant as any program I've tried. And, of course, a tag cloud view – and the ability to choose tags from a sidebar to narrow the search – makes all that tagging work worthwhile.
All of that being said, Leap still has some bugs despite its 1.0 status. I've been subjected to freezes fairly frequently, but the random crashing that plagued the beta seems to be cured. As far as features go, I wish there were an easy way to exclude parameters from a query. I'm also wishing for the ability to select multiple file types during a search using a ⌘-click rather than defining custom file type groups. But the interface, as it stands, is friendly and elegant once you get the basic concepts down. And nitpicking aside, it does elegantly accomplish everything I've been doing in a more manual fashion.
Leap is now selling for $59. You can buy Leap and Yep as a bundle for $69, and previous owners of Yep can get Leap for $39. That works for people who got Yep in a bundle as well. You can download a trial copy from Ironic Software and take it for a spin.
One of my intermittent day-job responsibilities is to move big chunks of data (20 GB or more in a session) from the friendly, forgiving, name-your-files-whatever-you-want confines of a Mac OS X server onto cranky, finicky, no-funky-characters (but portable) NAS devices so that the data can travel with a production team to some far-away city. This is generally a straightforward and simple task, except for one annoying fact: illegal characters, as SMB or NTFS define them, in file or folder names can bring those massive copies to a screeching halt. Major buzzkill! 
A while back when we mentioned a preview of ForkLift, a new 2-pane file manager for the Mac, the comments suggested that I may have somewhat under-appreciated what it offered. Well ForkLift has now shipped and appears to include quite a few nice features. Among these are a full-fledged (S)FTP client, tabs, spring loaded folders, Amazon S3 support, an Application Deleter (a la AppZapper), the ability to browse archives as if they were folders, and quite a bit more. For those moving over from using an orthodox file manager on the PC, or for anyone who finds the Finder rather limiting, ForkLift is worth a look. (Incidentally, if you're interested in the new Mac indie development company behind ForkLift, BinaryNights, MacApper had an interesting interview a while back.)

Continue reading Hazel update brings even more productivity to automated file manager
| # | Blogger | Posts | Cmts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cory Bohon | 84 | 4 |
| 2 | Robert Palmer | 58 | 39 |
| 3 | Steven Sande | 54 | 23 |
| 4 | Dave Caolo | 48 | 0 |
| 5 | Mat Lu | 40 | 10 |
| 6 | Erica Sadun | 33 | 3 |
| 7 | Scott McNulty | 32 | 0 |
| 8 | Mike Schramm | 20 | 1 |
| 9 | Brett Terpstra | 19 | 1 |
| 10 | Michael Rose | 12 | 21 |
| 11 | Giles Turnbull | 8 | 0 |
| 12 | Christina Warren | 8 | 21 |
| 13 | Chris Ullrich | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | Joshua Ellis | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Kent Pribbernow | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Jason Clarke | 1 | 0 |
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